
Old South Church and City Hall 1828. 



w^GcsrcR 



LCGCNBS 



INCIDENTS, ANECDOTES, REMINISCENCES, ETC., 

CONNECTED WITH THE EARLY HISTORY OF , 
WORCESTER, MASS., AND VICINITY. 



COMPILED BY WILLIAM A. EMERSON, CORRECTED BY FRANKLIN P. RICE 
AND PUBLIsi^ED BY DEN HOLM & McKAY CO. 



COPYRIGHT 1905. 
By WILLIAM A. EMERSON. 






LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies RMe'vcd 

DEC 26 1905 

Cnuyrislit Entry 

CLASS a. nxc. No. 

COPY B. 



INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 



lUST when the first settler located in Worcester is 
not positively known, but previous to 1674 one 
person, Ephraim Curtis from Sudbury, settled upon 
his claim, situated on what is now Lincoln street. 
Other settlers soon followed, among the more noted 
of whom were Captain Daniel Gookin of Cam- 
bridge, Daniel Henchman of Boston, Thomas 
Prentice of Woburn, and Lieutenant Richard Beers 
of Watertown. 

Previous to the advent of the whites Pakachoag 
Hill, near where the College of the Holy Cross now stands, was the seat, 
or headquarters, of a tribe of about one hundred Nipmuck Indians, under 




Sagamore John ; another tribe of about the 
same number occupied Tatnuck Hill, under 
Sagamore Solomon. Until the breaking out 
of King Philip's War these sons of the forest 
seem to have lived on the most pacific terms 
with the white settlers, and under the in- 
fluence of that distinguished apostle to the 
Indians, John Eliot, many of them had made 
considerable advance in civilization, and some 
had professed Christianity. Here the}- pur- 
sued their rude arts of husbandry and predatory life combined, evidence 
of which is conclusively shown in the numerous Indian relics exhumed from 
time to time. Under these favorable circumstances a permanent settlement 
was rapidly being made, when, in the summer of 1675, the war instigated 
by King Philip, in Plymouth Colony, spread to Massachusetts Colony, 




carrying destruction and terror in its track. The tribes of Sagamores John 
and Solomon became the allies of Philip, and the planters of Worcester, re- 
mote from friendly aid, upon the destruction of the nearest settlements, 
Mendon, Brookfield, and Lancaster, were compelled to desert their planta- 
tion and disperse among the larger towns. The savages took possession 
of, and burned the 



Worcester settlement 
Dec. 2, 1675. 

Amoncj the set- 
tiers of Worcester, 
who took part in 
the desperate battles 
with the Indians 
which followed, were 
Captain — afterwards 




General — Henchman, who 
was made commander-in- 
chief of the miHtia of the 
settlement; Lieutenant 
Richard Beers, who was 
killed in an engagement 
with the Indians at North- 
field, and Lieutenant Phin- 
eas Upham, who was mor- 
tally wounded in the attack 
on Narragansett Fort. 

The war was not of 
long duration, but Philip 
and his followers, driven 
from place to place, took 




refuge among the Nipmuck villages, where they found a welcome and 
shelter, and from whence they continued a predatory warfare on the more 
exposed and isolated dwellings of the settlers. Lincoln, in his admira- 
ble History of 
Worcester, says : 
\^^M>^^ "Alarm prevailed 

throughout New 
England. None 
knew when to 

expect the visitation of the foe, lurking unseen in the solitude of the forest 
until the blow fell, as sudden as the lightning, and left the effects traced 
with fire and blood. The husbandman went forth to cultivate the 
field, armed as if for battle ; the musket and sword rested by the pil- 
low, whose slumber was often broken as the war-whoop rose on the watches 
of the night. " 





It is said of King 
Philip that "his enmity 
was national, not individ- 
ual. He had staked 
everything on the struggle 
and fought to the bitter 
i end according to the es- 
tablished mode of Indian 
warfare." 

He was opposed to the 
introduction of Christian- 
ity among the Indians, 
and when Mr. Eliot, the 
missionary, urged the im- 
portance of Christianity 



told him he " cared no more for the Gospel than he did for a buUon upon his 
coat." The war ended with the death of King Philip, in the summer of 1676, 
and found Quinsigamond occupied only 
by Indian women, children, and men 
too old to bear arms, the warriors having 
either been slain in battle or fled to 
Canada. On account of the threatened 
Indian depredations the settlement re- 
mained deserted for several years, but in 
1684 a second attempt at settlement was 
made. The plantation was then named 
Worcester, signifying war-castle, it having been known previous to that by 
its Indian name, Quinsigamond. 

The first garrison house, the Old Indian Fort, was erected between 
Grove and Lincoln streets, near the fording place. It was a two-story 





structure built of logs, loop-holes for 
musketry and port-holes for cannon. 
Near by, on the West side of Mill brook, 
was built the first saw mill, and a corn 
mill was afterwards added. These mills 
were owned by Captain John Wing, who 
^^^^ came from Boston. The first corn mill, 
however, was built by Elijah Chase, on the stream near the wire works at 
Quinsigamond. Captain Daniel Gookin's lots were located on Pakachoag 
Hill, overlooking what is now Qjiinsigamond village, and a tract of land 
called Raccoon Plain between South and New Worcester. General Hench- 
man's location was near Captain Wing's, and included the site of the 
Worcester and Nashua freight depot and Henchman street. The garrison 
house of Digory Serjent was located on Sagatabscot Hill, on or near 
Winthrop street. Beside the garrisons already mentioned there was one 




Old 



V:ORCEmEF^f 




HOW, 



jwJf^wrosSJjjwW' 



1!^ owned by Thomas Brown, north of Adams 
square ; another on the West side of Main 
street, near Chatham, and another at the 
junction of Exchange street and Main. 

The settlement continued to grow until 
about the commencement of the eighteenth 
centur}-, when it was a second time broken 
up bv the Indians, among the victims be- 
ing the family of Digory Serjent, who was 
killed while defending his garrison house, 
and his wife and children were taken pris- 
oners. All the white inhabitants, with the 
P^-'i^^^^/l one exception of Serjent and his family, 
\pMj^^^\ fled from fear of the hostile Indians. He 
-^^ ^ resisted the entreaties of the committee 



<:^'^''''A 



having the settlement in charge, to seek safety in flight, and remained un- 
molested through the summer and fall of 1702. Upon the approach of 
winter an armed force from Marlboro, in pursuit of the Indians who had 
just committed depredations there, arrived at the house of Serjent and 
"found the door broken down, the owner stretched in blood on the floor, 
and the dwelling desolate." 
The soldiers followed the trail 
of the Indians for some dis- 
tance, but so rapid was their 
retreat they were not over- 
taken. The pursuing party 
returned and "buried Ser- 
jent at the foot of an oak." 
The exact location of his 
grave is not known at this 




day. The children of Serjent were taken 
to Canada. Martha, John and Thomas 
were afterwards redeemed, Daniel and Mary 
it is said were held captive and never re- 
turned. The eldest, Martha, upon her 
return married Daniel Shattuck of Marl- 
boro, received her father's estate by will 
and entered into possession, living for some 
time in a cabin constructed from the material 
of the old house, removing afterwards to 
Marlboro. She was a witness of the death 
of her father and mother, and gave the 
following particulars of the awful double 
tragedy: "When the Indians surrounded 
her father's house he seized his gun to 





defend himself and family ; he was fired upon 
and fell ; the Indians rushed in and despatched 
him and tore the scalp from his head. They 
then seized the mother and her five children 
and began a rapid retreat. The wife and 
mother, fainting with grief and fear, impeded 
their flight, and while ascending the hills of 
Tatnuck a chief stepped out of the file and 
looking around as if for game excited no 

alarm in the sinking 
captive. When she had 
passed by one blow of 
his tomahawk relieved 
the savages from the 
obstruction to their 



march." During her seven years' captivity Martha was the unwiHing wit- 
ness of numerous barbarities inflicted by the Indians on their defenseless 
captives. She saw many prisoners burned at the stake and her own 
fears were often excited by the fiendish intelHgence that soon they 
should have another dance when she would be the victim. The Sargeants of 

Worcester county are many 
of them descendants of 
Digory Serjent, the name 
having been changed. 

The third and permanent 
settlement of Worcester was 
commenced in 17131 the In- 
dians having at that time 
ceased to haunt the settle- 
ment. 




A favorite rendezvous of the savages in this vicinity during the early 
days of tlie settlements was Wachusett mountain, in the neighboring town 

of Princeton. Their 



camping ground was 
on the northeast side, 
near the margin of 
Wachusett lake. Here 
their council fires were 
lighted, expeditions 
planned and treaties 
made, and here Mrs. 
Rowlandson remained 
for some time after her 
captivity, until she was 
ransomed. Not only was King Philip with her captors but several of the 





leading chiefs, among 
them Quinnapin, the 
master of Mrs. Row- 
landson, and his wife, 
the celebrated "Squaw 
Sachim" Metamo, 
" Qjieen of Pocasset," next to Philip in influence and cruelty. Mrs. 
Rowlandson, in her quaint narrative "Twenty Removes," refers to her 
mistress as "A severe and proud dame, bestowing every day in dressing 
herself near as much time as any of the Gentry of the Land, powdering 
"ner Hair and painting her Face." 

Mrs. Rowlandson was here when the Indians returned from Marlboro 
and was present at the grand pow-wow both before and after the attack on 
Sudbury. The ransom of Mrs. Rowlandson was secured through the 
efforts of Mr. John Hoar, who bravely came among the hostile savages 



and opened negotiations for her release, which was effected, after a great 
deal of ceremony and delay, at a place tradition locates in a meadow near 
a huge bowlder, since known as "Redemption Rock," and near the shores 
of the pond of the same name. It is said that Philip opposed the release of 
the captive, and that Mr. Hoar was obliged to conciliate Qjiinnapin with a 
pint of rum, upon which he at once got beastly intoxicated. The details of 
the negotiation are not known, but Mr. Hoar at last succeeded in obtaining 
the release of Mrs. Rowlandson and her return to Lancaster. In the 

summer of 1880 Hon. 
George F. Hoar of 
Worcester, who is a de- 
scendant of John Hoar 
of Concord, purchased 
about half an acre of 
land, in the center o^ 





which "Redemption 
Rock" is localed. The 
location of this rock is 
near Everettville, on the 
west side of the road, 
only a short distance from 
the highway. Upon one 
side, which rises some twelve feet from the ground, is engraved the follow- 
ing inscription: "Upon this rock, May 2, 1676, was made the agreement 
for the release of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson of Lancaster, between the 
Indians and John Hoar of Concord. King Philip was with the Indians but 
refused his consent." 

Hanaford, the Historian of Princeton, relates that about the time of 
the revolution a daughter of a Mr. Keyes, aged four years and eight 
months, wandered off and became lost in the Wachusett woods. The 




people for thirty miles around col- 
lected and for weeks searched for 
her, but without success, nothing of 
the child was ever discovered, and 
the parents believed she had been 
carried off by the Indians. This 
was made more probable by the 
storjr of two men, who, years after, 
on a trading expedition to Canada 
related on their return that they 
t'ound living among the Indians a 
white woman who knew nothing 
further of her birth or parentage, 
than that she once lived near 
"■Chuselt Hill." 



The elevation of Mt. Wachusett Is 2,480 feet above the sea level, the 
highest o{ the range of hills which extend across the state from north 
to south. 

The view from the summit extends over portions of six states, and in 

a clear day it is said 
nearly three hundred 
> ities and villages can 
le distinguished. The 
great majority of these 
are in the direcnou 
of north-east, east and 
soutli-east ; the vast 
panorama extending 
from the interior to 
t'ne sea-coast. 




Washacum lakes 
in Sterlincf were 
also the favorite re- 
sort of the Indians. 
Here, just between 
fi4 the two lakes, was 
'^'"^ the capital of Sho- 
ian Sachem of the 
Nashaways or 
N a s h a w o g s . It 
was at his instance 
that the first Eng- 
lish settlement Jn 

the limits of the county was made. In the wigwam of Sholan Indian 
councils were held and the grounds around it were devoted to Indian, sports, 




games, and "regattas" were held on the waters of the lake. Here was 
located an Indian church, and by invitation of Sholan, a trader of Water- 
town built a "trucking house" near by and opened a store. 

The old Sagamore and his son dying, the new Sachem, Matthew or 
Sagamore Sam, a nephew of Sholan and a very different kind of an 
Indian, became an easy dupe of Philip. In his wigwam between the lakes 
the plan was laid for the utter destruction of Lancaster. 

The first naval battle on the inlan<i waters of Massachusetts was fought 
at Washacum. In May, 1776, Capta'n Henchman when marching towards 
the Connecticut valley was informed that 
there was a party of hostile Indians at this 
lake. He turned hither and surprised a 
party in their canoes taking fish. He led 
an instant attack upon them, killing seven 
and taking twenty-nine prisoners. 





Apples and Cider. 



EARLY DAYS IN THE SETTLEMENT. 




OR many years after the Indians ceased to trouble the 
settlement the best energies of the inhabitants were given 
to the work of subduing the wilderness. The story of 
these early labors has a peculiar fascination to us, their 
descendants, although lacking the same interest elicited by 
the recital of Indian atrocities. 

The wilderness lay before them, the lonely and solemn 

woods used for generations by the Indians as a hunting 

J ground, the stillness at last broken by the ringing tones of 



the axe and the sound of falling timber, accompanied by the echoes of the 
voices of the woodmen at their work ; then came the time for burning the 
dry trunks and branches, the planting of barley and corn, the building of 



houses and barns, walls, fields, and roads, 
and in the course of time, when the stump- 
age had become sufficiently decaj^ed, re- 
moving the charred stumps and roots by 
the use of oxen and heavy chains, then 
levelling the land, removing the stones, and 
at last introducing the plough ; after this 
followed the various processes of planting, 
the setting out of fruit trees and vines, until 
the wilderness was maae to blossorp as the rose. 

Only those who have lived in frontier towns can appreciate the toil 
incident to the opening of such a wilderness. One writer of New England 
history has said : "An immense amount of the most exhausting labor must 
be expended in the process. The world looks with wonder on the dykes 
of Holland, the wall of China, the pyramid'^ of Egypt; I do not hesitate 




to say that the results produced by the 
small, scattered population of the American 
colonies, during the first century, in tearing 
up the wilderness by the roots, transferring 
the rocks with which the surface was 
covered into walls, opening roads, building 
bridges, and making a rough and broken 
country, smooth and level, converting a 
sterile waste into fertile fields, blossoming with verdure and grain and 
fruitage, is a more wonderful monument of human industry and perse- 
verance than them all. It was the work, not of mere hired laborers, still 
less of servile minions, but of freemen, owning or winning by their 
voluntary and cheerful toil the acres on which they labored, and thus 
entitling themselves to be the sovereigns of the country they were creating." 
During the early years of the settlement there were only a sufficient 




number of mechanics to do the 
absolutely necessary repairs, to 
dress the cloth, which was home- 
spun and made in the family, to 
do the blacksmithing, make the'^5-~>] 
ploughs and other farming im- * <^ 
plements, to make and mend the %^ 
custom shoes, etc. It was a 
common practice for the shoe- 
maker to pack up his "kit" and 
go from house to house, making 
up the shoes for the year. 

Nearl}^ every farmer had his 
field of flax, and some had flax 
to sell. The wives and daushters 




made cloth of it for the family, ^ 
and the boys at an early age 
learned to brake and swinge it. 
The early houses of the 
settlement were one-story, 
with stone chimneys, and built 
principally of logs, and the 
windows in many of them 
were of oiled paper instead of 
glass. The interiors were un- 
finished and almost destitute of furnishing, the benches, tables and 
chairs being home made. The chimneys were large enough in most 
cases to allow of seats inside the fireplace, where a person sitting in 
the evening could watch the stars through the top of the chimney. 
The cooking was done principally in iron pots and kettles, which 




hung over the fire on a swinging crane suspended by hooks of different 
lengths. Wild game, fowls, and sometimes pigs, i 
were roasted or spitted whole, the spit, an iron rod 
sharp at one end, being thrust through the meat and 
turned about before the fire while it roasted. Meat] 
was also broiled by 
contact with the live 
coals, and corn bread 
or pancakes were has- 
tily prepared in pans 
and also baked before 
the coals. The bak- 
ing, including the 
brown bread and beans, 
was done to a nicety in 





the brick oven adjoining. The 
tinder-box and flint were used for 
lighting the fire and the bellows 
to fan it into a blaze. The an- 
cient iron candle sticks or tallow 
dips stood on the mande piece, and above on wooden pegs hung the old 
flint-lock musket and powder horn. The piggin, skillet, and other roughly 
constructed articles of culinary use ; the tin lantern, candle and bullet 
moulds ; mortar and pestle, hour glass, the steelyards, the birch broom, the 
iron fire shovel and tongs, and other articles of daily use either hung on the 
walls or stood in their accustomed places. The bare ■^^'^or and the wooden 
settle, the dresser with its pewter plates, platters, etc., the reel and quill- 
wheel, the wooden churn, straight back chairs, the old eight-day clock in 
the corner, were familiar objects in nearly every New England home. 

The monotony of life in the settlement was varied by occasional social 



gatherings, in which labor and 
merrymaking went hand in hand. 
The old fashioned husking and 
quilting parties were looked forward 
to and indulged in by all, men, 
women and children alike entering 
into the enjoyment of the occasion. 
Alter the hay and grain were gath- 
ered and the corn and pumpkins 
were harvested, then came the merry 
husking party. When the corn had 
been brought into the corn house or 
barn and arranged in convenient rows and heaps an evening was appointed 
for the husking. Towards the close of the appointed day the neighbors, 
old and young, for miles around began to assemble. They came in wagons 




w 



and carts, or on horseback, clad 
in plain homespun, and at early- 
twilight began their merry labors. 
The red ear was industriously 
sought, as it entitled the finder to 
salute each fair maiden in the room. 
The ladies of course were allowed 
the same privilege, but seldom 
availed themselves of it. Some un- 
fortunate young man, however, after 
hunting in vain would find his 
sweetheart equal to the emergency, 
a red ear wouIq find its way into his hand, and the generous young lady 
would be repaid by the first kiss. Sometimes there would be a scarcity of 
red ears, in which case recourse would be had to a choice collection from 





1,,'""' 



the garret which had seen active 
service in times gone by, and which 
ahhough showing signs of age 
were too welcome to excite suspi- 
cion or inquiry. The young men 
found exercise for their gallantry in 
helping their fair companions to 
corn from the heap, and in remov- 
ing the accumulation of husks ; 
then there were songs and stories 
and gossip ; sometimes the whole 
company were in breathless silence 
while some old veteran slowly rehearsed a tragic tale of Indian warfare and 
blood, and then the whole house would resound with loud peals of laughter 
which followed some comical story or bright flash of wit. Those who 




could not rehearse incidents even of 
doubtful heroism in the army, had 
their fund of divers anecdotes of 
struggles with bears, minks, wild- 
cats, foxes, musquash and coons. 
After the labors of the evening were 
finished, the company repaired to 
the house, where the tables were 
loaded down with cake and dough- 
nuts and pies, the pumpkin pies 
baked in great, deep platters, and 
the best cheese reserved to be cut 
on this occasion. After a hearty repast, at which coffee and cider were 
bountifully supplied, the kitchen was cleared of furniture and the festivities 
wound up with "blind-man's buff" and other sports, or the old folks were 




dismissed and tlie rest of the time 
devoted to dancing. 

As the long winter evenings 
drew on social gatherings became 
more frequent, neighbors would 
assemble at the house of some one 
of their number and by their united 
labor accomplish in a single evening 
what it would have taken the family 
months to do. The patchwork quilt- 
ing would all be done, the corn and 
nuts all shelled, the young birch 
stripped down in their strands and birch brooms enough made to last a year 
in house and barn, and many other useful offices rendered. Outside of these 
w;casions, in which labor and jollity were mingled, the games and amuse- 




merits were few 
and simple. 
Ma n y of the 
young men were 
experts at the 
games of ball, 
such as base and 
football. Shovel- 
board, domino, 
backgammon , 
fox and geese, 
and checkers 




were common home amusements. The old fashioned New England winter 
gave opportunity for sleighing, skating and coasting. 



LAWS, CUSTOMS, AND DRESS. 



would seem that our forefathers were not inclined to place 
a premium on dishonesty and crime, at all events they provided 
laws which were exceedingly troublesome to offenders, and 
rendered the indulgence of profanity, lying. Sabbath breaking, 
and kmdred habits, extremely dangerous. One favorite in- 
strument of punishment, the pillory, consisted of a wooden 
frame in which the offender's head and hands were made fast ; 
the victim being thus exposed to public ridicule. The ducking- 
stool was used in some places for the punishment of women who were 
scolds or slanderers. Blasphemy was sometimes punished by placing the 
tongue of the swearer in the opening of a split stick. 

The stocks were also used to discourage petty offenders, and cages 




for the impribonment of cri'ni- 
nals before jails were provided. 
The time selected for punish- 
ment in the pillory, stocks or 
cage was usually some pub'.ic 
holiday or market day, and in 
the most public place, to make 
the shame greater. 

The whipping post was 
also a familiar object in those 
days and in the case of more 
notorious offenders they were 
given a liberal number of stripes, a turn at the pillory and an hour's sitting 
on the gallows with the rope around the neck. 

The Sunday l*" k& in New England were rigorously enforced. Tything- 




men with a stall" or rod in 
^gii£ their hands kept order during 
the lon<r services- These 
rods sometimes liad a ball on 
one end and a fox tail on the 
other. The men of the con- 
gregation were kept awake 
by a tap from the heavy end, 
^— - and if a woman was caught 
'ff napping she was awakened 
by the fox tail brushing 
Po-ir„^s:?ii.»==' against her face. 
The town constituted the parish in those early days, and every one was 
expected to attend church regularly and constantly, and it was a part 
of the duty of the tything-man t^ look up absentees and bring them 





before a legal tri- 
bunal if necessary 
to secure their at- 
tendance. 

The seating of 
the meeting-house, 
and allotting of pews 
according to the dig- 
nity and wealth of 
the individual, often 
created dissatisfac- 
tion among the inhab- 
itants and sometimes 
their grievances were 
the subject of discus- 



sion at town meet- 
ing. In the earliest 
meeting-houses the 
men and women 
usually sat apart. 
The galleries were 
usually free, the men 
and boys on one side 
and the women and 
girls on the other, 
with the singers' seats opposite the pulpit. In the coldest weather there 
were no fires for heating the church, but many of the people brought small 
tin foot stoves in which coals were placed, and it was customary to 
replenish them with fresh coals at the neighboring houses as occasion 
required. 





Jf'AUAVS:!.--- 



The Oread Institute originated by the Hon. Eli Thayer in 1848. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



ANY of the old buildings of historic ititerest have 
been removed within the last quarter of a century 
so that little now remains of the Worcester of the 
past. One after another have "succumbed io the 
inevitable," and at last the most familiar and 
cherished landmark, the Old South Church, stand- 
ing in the way of improvement, has passed from 
sight. This church edifice was erected in 1763 ; it 
Was seventy feet long and fifty wide, with a tower on the north end, sur- 
mounted by a steeple one hundred and thirty feet high. The principal en- 
trance was on Main street, through a porch, but in 1827 this entrance was 
closed, the porch removed, and an entrance made through the tower and the 




square pews and ancient pulpit were removed. In 1886 the rigiits of the 
First Parish in the common were transferred to the city, suhjcct to award of 
damages by legal authority, and the meeting-house was sold at auction for 
$320 and torn down, tlie 
parish receiving an award 
of $148,400 damages. 

The first county court 
house was built in 1732-3 
on the site where the pres- 
ent court house now stands. 
The location has always 
been styled "Court Hill." 
Judge Jennison gave the 
land, and the building was 
put up in 1733. 




/ 




The exchange Hotel was first known as the " United States Arms," 
afterwards as "Sikes' Coffee House." General Washington breakfasted 
here in 1789 and General Lafayette in 1825. 




Court Hill. Worth or Brick Court House completed in 1803. Granite Court House in 184s. 




The ancient Salisbury mansion at Lincoln square was erected by the 
elder Stephen Salisbury in 1770. It presents almost the same general 
appearance it did when first built. 



REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 




HE present city of Worcester, with its one 
hundred and thirty thousand inhabitants, was 
at the time of the Revolution a village of less 
than two thousand and with a voting popula- 
tion of less than three hundred. 

There were at this time throughout the 
Colonies two opposing political parties, the Tories and the Whigs. The 
Tories or " loyalists," comprised some of the most respected citizens, who 
were wealthy and influential in town affairs ; the majority, however, were 
Whigs. The leading members of the latter party just previous to the 
Revolution favored what was called the "American Political Society," 
which at tliat critical period had a marked influence over town affairs. 




and controlled to a certain ex-f 
tent the actions of the loyalist 
party. The members agreed 
not to buy or use any English 
goods, particularly l°a, until 
the odious stamp act was re- 
pealed. Long and excited 
discussions were held in town 
meetings over resolutions to 
oppose all enroachments on American liberties. The Tories entered a 
protest against these resolutions. This protest was rejected, but the town 
clerk, Clark Chandler, himself a persistent Loyalist, and one ol the signers, 
entered the protest upon the Records. When the fact of its entry was 
discovered the patriots were indignant with the town clerk for insulting the 
town by his unwarranted procedure. A petition was at once presented to 



the selectmen asking for a special meeting, 
which was held Aug. 24th, 1774. 

The town "voted, that the town clerk 
do in the presence of the town obliterate, 
erase, or otherwise deface the said recorded 
protest, and the names thereto subscribed, 
so that it may become utterly illegible and 
unintelligible." The clerk then with pen 
and ink defaced line by line the pages on which the obnoxious record was 
made, but this not satisfying the patriotic indignation of the voters there 
assembled he dipped his fingers in the ink and drawing them across the 
records completed the work of making them illegible. A vote was thcrt 
passed admonishing him to be more circumspect in the execution of the 
duties of his office, and that he never give the town the like trouble of 
calling a town meetingj again on such an occasion. 




When the time came for action the 
patriotic citizens -of Worcester were ready 
to respond. Upon receiving news from 
Lexington and Concord the b.-ds were 
rung and cannon fired, and a company 
under Captain Timothy Bigelow gathered 
on the common and after a prayer by Rev. 
Thaddeus Maccarty proceeded at once to 
the scene of conflict. 

On the 19th of April, 1861, the anni- 
versary of the departure of the minute men 
in 1775 for the seat of war near Boston, 
the beautiful monument erected on the com- 
mon to the memory of Colonel Bigelow 
was dedicated. It is an interesting" fact 







that only two days before, •^■^•; 
the Worcester Light In- -.i^; 
fantry, who were to have 
taken part in the exercises, 
had started with the Massa- 
chusetts Sixth for the de- 
defence of Washington, and 
at the very time tihe dedica- 
tion ceremonies were going 
on at Worcester were bravely • 
fighting their way through • 
Baltimore 

Another important event M 
of the revolutionary period 
took place on Saturday, 








July 13th, 1776, when the 
messenger bearing the Dec- 
laration of Independence 
stopped on his way from 
Philadelphia to Boston to 
bail his horse, and the famous 
document was read to a 
hastily assembled crowd 
from the west porch of the 
Old South meeting house. 
It was also read in church the next day by the pastor. Rev. Tliaddeus 
MacCarty, and printed for the first time In New England in the " Massachu- 
setts Spy "of July 17th. After the reading of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence the assembly proceeded to the Court house, from which they 
removed the coat-of-arms of Great Britain and consigned it to the flames. 




A select company of tlie sons of 
freedom then proceeded to the 
King's Arms tavern, (where the 
Lincoln House now stands.) 
The innkeeper cheerfully com- 
plied with their request to take 
down the sign bearing the king's 
arms, and it was burned in the 
street. The evening was spent 
in a general jubilee over the 
commencement of the new era. 

The following are some of 
toasts drank on that occasion : 
"George rejected and liberty 
protected ," sore eyes to all 




Tories, and a chestnut burr for an eye-stone ; " " Perpetual itching without 
the benefit of scratching, to the enemies of America ; " " May the enemies 
of America be laid at her feet;" "May the freedom and independency of 
America endure, till the sun grows dim with age and this earth returns 
to chaos." 

It is recorded that notwithstanding the excitement of the day, with its 
accompaniment of the ringing of bells, firing of cannon, and other demon- 
strations of joy, the greatest decency and good order was observed, and at a 
suitable time each man returned to his respective home. 

Among the relics of the Isaiah Thomas printing office, now in the 
possession of the American Antiquarian Society, are the old ramage press 
upon which the Spy of July 17, 1776, was printed, the imposing stone upon 
which the forms of the Spy were made up, as well as the type stand, cases, 
chase, and two composing sticks used at this time. 



DEC 26 t305 



LIBRRRX Ul- i^uMuiM^o^ 



1 



014 079 613 R| 



